If you are a clinician in healthcare, more than likely you chose this career path because you wanted to improve peoples’ lives, while also fulfilling your own life’s purpose and meaning.
Unfortunately, I speak with clinicians regularly who instead of fulfilling their purpose, feel hopeless and defeated by the system. They got caught on the conventional medicine treadmill and are not making the impact they had intended when they began their career. Many feel as though they are only able to “give a pill for the ill” and take the “band-aid” approach in addressing patients’ health issues.
Conventional medicine clinicians are often not permitted the time or resources to find the root cause of an illness and educate patients on how lifestyle changes can improve health. Fortunately, there is a way to exit the “conventional treadmill” system. Here’s how you can get back on the career path you originally envisioned.
Remember why you started
An education in this field is aligned with the intentions you had when you decided to work in healthcare. There was passion instilled in you to help people achieve optimal health and well-being. Reviving this passion for your career can truly lead to the betterment of others’ lives.
Practitioners in this field spend adequate time with their patients to address the whole person, not just an isolated set of symptoms. This approach empowers people to take control of their health and lives.
Beat the defeat
This field of medicine is needed now, more than ever, and it is often the answer for conventional clinicians who are experiencing defeat and burnout.
Prior to COVID-19, up to 50% of nurses and physicians were experiencing burnout, portrayed by emotional exhaustion and a lack of personal accomplishment from work. Burnout impacts job performance, can increase medical errors, and lead to physical and mental illness. It impacts the health of the clinician and the patient, and it’s accelerating at a devastating pace as a result of the pandemic.
In less than a year after the pandemic started, a survey from Mental Health America showed 76% of healthcare workers reported exhaustion and burnout. The pandemic has reinforced the critical importance of a personalized approach to care, for healthcare workers and patients.
Change healthcare and become a part of something bigger
Integrative and Functional Medicine provides clinicians with tools that empower health so people can build resiliency for any health issues they may face, and the knowledge to build a plan for recovery. By starting or continuing your education in Integrative and Functional Medicine, you’re joining the movement that is changing the face of healthcare. This medicine is patient-centered care that addresses the root cause of disease, making use of all appropriate therapies, both conventional and holistic.
Don’t navigate this new territory on your own. Join a community of like-minded professionals when you begin your education and discover a variety of employers offering opportunities to grow a career in the field.
I’ve recruited for small medical practices and large health systems that recognize the need for better healthcare and provide a patient-centered approach to care. Prestigious institutions have developed programs that make personalized medicine more easily accessible and are achieving outstanding results.
The Pandemic’s Impact on Healthcare Professionals
One invaluable lesson we’ve learned from COVID-19 is the necessity of improving our resiliency. Integrating changes that improve diet and lifestyle reduces susceptibility to infection. Now, more than ever, we are experiencing the devastating effects of chronic illness. Our healthcare system needs clinicians equipped to address prevention and recovery.
COVID-19 has placed an immediate burden on our healthcare system, but the effects for some patients may be long-term. The British Medical Journal estimates 10% of people diagnosed with COVID-19 have long-term symptoms. In May 2020, Mount Sinai in New York launched the Center for Post-COVID Care to provide personalized treatment plans for long-term COVID-19 patients. Studies are increasing about the potential long-term effects of the virus and an online community for COVID survivors has grown to over 125,000 of these “long haulers”.
Resources Post-Pandemic
The need for personalized medicine is rapidly increasing, and Integrative and Functional Medicine is primed to meet this need. Institutions in the field are adding curriculum to their programs to ensure clinicians will have the tools and resources to meet patient demand.
Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine provides free Wellness Webinar Series for their community so that they can come together each week for grounding and inspiration during these unprecedented times.
American Academy of Anti Aging Medicine provides a resource hub of educational programming, relevant news, and patient resources to equip medical practitioners with guiding support through the COVID-19 outbreak.
The University of Arizona Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine developed a comprehensive series of presentations which include integrative perspectives on the coronavirus as well as public health recommendations. You can find those resources here.
The Institute for Functional Medicine offers the Resistance, Resilience, and Recovery course which addresses the pandemic from all angles and includes regular updates on research and clinical pearls. These institutions offer the personalized medicine support and education we need to move through these challenging times.
Personalized medicine is the future of healthcare
This is THE time to start your career in the field. You are needed now and personalized medicine is the future of healthcare. At Integrated Connections, we have the resources to help you start and grow a career in the field.
Our website houses articles and videos to help start your journey.
- Courses to help you prepare your cover letter, CV and master a job interview in the field.
- Job Board and Recruitment Services when you’re ready to find a Functional Medicine position.
There is so much uncertainty in the world, it’s important to focus on what you can control. You can take charge of your health and the quality of care you provide to patients on a daily basis. It begins with expanding your education and bringing that knowledge into practice.
Discover what Integrated Connections can help you achieve by viewing our tailor-made services for employers and job seekers.
